208 THE APPLE CULTURIST. 



not less than four rods wide, early in autumn. Let the 

 ground be ploughed deep. Then scarify the surface with 

 cultivators and harrows, until the whole strip ig reduced to 

 a fine tilth. Now stick four rows of stakes about one rod 

 apart, lengthways of the plot, where rows of trees are to 

 grow. The two outer rows will be about eight feet from 

 the border. Hoed crops may be cultivated on such ground 

 for a few years. Or the surface may be worked occasion- 

 ally with a horse-hoe, to subdue the grass and weeds, and 

 to keep the soil moist. Crops of cereal grain should never 

 be raised where such trees are growing, as the aim should 

 be to promote the development of every tree, by keeping 

 the soil moist and free from vegetation during the growing- 

 season. If grass and grain are not allowed to grow around 

 such trees, every one will shoot upward, in good soil, from 

 two to four feet annually. In ten years, by proper cultiva- 

 tion, a dense belt may be formed thirty feet in height, en- 

 tirely around a fruit-orchard. But let grain and grass be 

 cultivated among the trees, and the tops will not stretch 

 upward more than one foot in each year. 



What Trees to cultivate. The aim should be to select 

 such varieties as can be propagated easily, which will 

 grow rapidly, mature their branches thoroughly before cold 

 weather, be hardy during the winter, and make valuable 

 timber. Among such varieties may be mentioned the but- 

 ternut (Jufflans cinerea), the black walnut (Juglans nigra), 

 the yellow locust (Robinia pseudicacia) ; in some localities 

 the chestnut (Gastanea vesca) will nourish satisfactorily. 

 Some Western pomologists recommend for this purpose, 

 Cotton-wood, Tree "Willow, and Silver Leaf Maple, -which 

 will in a few years make an effective screen for an orchard 

 and farm crops, all of which will grow rapidly, and most of 

 which will yield durable timber. There are also other trees 

 which would be, perhaps, preferable to these in certain lo- 



